Megayachts

World’s 100 Largest Yachts 2006 #1: Al Salamah

#1: AL SALAMAH—456’10”

CNN said it best about Al Salamah: "a vessel beside which most similar boats look like little more than glorified pedalos." That’s not hard to do, considering she rises eight decks high. (No wonder tourists have mistaken her for a cruise ship.) She’s said to have 82 rooms, one of which is an indoor swimming pool. A crew of 96 sees to it that the owner and guests are well taken care of. She was commissioned by Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, the Saudi Arabian defense minister, who continues to use her today. If you’re an avid follower of these yachts, you may recall that her project name while under construction was MIPOS, an acronym for Mission Possible. Why “possible”? Because the prince insisted that she be built and delivered within a two-year time frame—a seeming impossibility given her vastness, yet a mission that was indeed accomplished.